Call of the Wild, long story
by pinkcat4569
Summary: Inspired by my drabble also titled Call of the Wild.  When the ARC is invaded by hostile forces, Becker's primal need to protect Jess is activated.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Call of the Wild, Chapter One

Author: Pinkcat4569

Rating: T

Characters/pairing: Becker/Jess, team members seasons 4/5.

Description: The ARC is invaded by hostile forces, and one of them stirs the primal instinct in Becker to protect Jess.

Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or the characters

Author's Note: I had this idea and wrote a 100 word drabble (of the same name) but had to write a longer story. It's not really connected to the drabble.

Becker and Jess are a couple in this and live together, probably not with Abby and Connor. Also, my original characters: Chef Bernie Rice, Lt. Fred Flowers, Lt. Vale, and Sargent Nicole Bilson, appear. In my mind, this is set after all my stories involving these characters, but this story stands alone, and is not related to any other.

Update: Boy there was a lot of typos! This has been edited for spelling and some slight corrections for story flow or logic have been made.

7548 total words. 1947 Words, this chapter

Call of the Wild, Chapter One

It was a typical day at the ARC, or it was, until they got a strange anomaly reading.

"Where is it?"

"I don't know, Matt," said Jess. "It was there, but then it stopped. Now I'm getting no anomaly at all."

"Weird," said Connor.

"Maybe our field coordinator is hearing and seeing things," said Matt. "She's been distracted lately. I blame you." He pointed at Becker, who smiled.

"What! How dare you?"cried Jess in Matt's ear. "I am as efficient and focused as ever. It's not my fault if the anomaly is loopy."

Matt grinned.

"I believe you have hurt her feelings," said Emily.

"I apologize, Jess."

"You better. I accept."

Becker laughed. "Still no reading, Jess?"

"Still none. It's like the anomaly was never there."

"OK," said Matt. "Let's head in."

"See you soon," said Jess.

Jess waited in Ops, hoping to see her private hunk of perfect man soon, but it took longer than expected. Finally, the lift opened.

Jess turned and smiled, but it quickly fell. Becker and the others were pushed in by masked men with guns.

"Listen up!" yelled one of the men. "James Lester front and center."

A tall man in a well-pressed designer suit walked in front of Jess. "I'm here," he said. "What's the meaning of this?"

"The meaning, Sir, is a takeover. Everyone follow our commands and no one gets hurt. I don't like it when people get hurt, it's a nuisance."

"What do you want?" asked Lester.

"Your files, your snazzy guns—the EMDs, and the creatures."

"I don't know what in heaven's name you're talking about," said Lester.

"Of course not. Sit. All of you, sit," he commanded, then turned to one of his men, "This is Three, please take him over to the ADD, Miss Parker and log him in. Please, don't do anything stupid. You're a civilian and it would especially pain me to kill you."

Jess' eyes grew wide and instinctively, she looked to Becker. He nodded calmly and gave her a small smile. She nervously returned it and did as she was told.

The others were separated, men on one side of Ops, women on the other. All were tied up. "Who the devil are you?" asked Lester.

The man in charge smiled. "You may call me Leader."

Lester rolled his eyes. "You've a bit of an arrogance problem, huh?" The man laughed. "How the devil did you get in?" demanded Lester. "Becker, you're fired."

Leader laughed again. "Actually, your security's brilliant. We couldn't find a way in. Finally we had to fake an anomaly alert so we could ambush a team and use them to get in. It was sheer luck that it happened to be Anderson's team."

"You know an awful lot about us," said Abby.

"Yes, Miss Maitland, we do. Congratulations by the way, on your engagement."

Abby looked at Connor, stunned.

"OK, that's creepy," he said. "I want to know how you know that, but first, how in the heck did you fake an anomaly?"

The leader smiled. "It was tricky. You'd be impressed. I wish we could talk more, but our chatting time is up. I need to check on the rest of the ARC." He turned to Three. "Keep working." Then Leader left.

Becker pulled at the ropes. "Matt?" he whispered.

"Nah, I can't get free either," answered the Irish man.

"They're in the system," whispered Lester, eying Three at the computers. "They really can't have those files. It would be a disaster. The minister would demote me to tea boy."

Becker looked at Jess. She stood near the ADD, keeping her eyes on Becker, but she looked frightened.

"Nice system, sweetheart," said Three to her. "I'm impressed." He looked down at her legs and slowly up her body. "Very impressed." He licked his lips.

Becker saw Three looking at her and his heart raced. He really didn't like Three's body language.

Moments later his instinct proved him right. Becker watched in horror as suddenly Three turned from the ADD and pounced on Jess.

She screamed.

"Get off her!" screamed Becker. He pulled frantically at his ropes. "Jess!"

She flailed inside Three's arms, trying desperately to get away.

The lifts opened and Leader walked into Ops.

"Leader! Corral your animal!" yelled Lester.

The leader ran over, grabbed Three, and threw him against the wall. "She is not our objective," Leader said. "You're here for the files."

"I know," said Three, panting.

"Then do your job or I'll leave you behind and they can deal with you," said Leader, gesturing to the tied-up team.

"You don't want that, I promise you," said Matt.

Becker growled, keeping his eyes on Jess.

Three eyed him cautiously, then nodded toward Leader and returned to the ADD.

"Jess, are you OK?" Becker asked. He pulled at the ropes. He desperately wanted to hold her.

She nodded toward him, fear still on her face.

"Sit with the women," the Leader told her.

Jess was shaking but she managed to walk over to Abby and Emily.

"You're OK," Abby said softly, rubbing against her, like a cat. It was all she could do since she was tied.

Jess nodded but focused her eyes on Becker.

He smiled at her.

She took a deep breath, calmed herself and and managed to weakly smile back.

"Everything will be fine," Lester reassured her, and Becker had to smile at his boss' moment of concern. "Don't sit there, get to work," he whispered at Becker and Matt.

They grinned and began working on their ropes.

As time passed, Three copied the files, but to Becker's dismay and anger, he kept leering at Jess.

Becker growled. Three's attention to Jess was stirring something animal in him.

"Four, Come in," said Leader over his comm. "Are the rest of the security forces secure?"

"Yes. They are all locked in the security cells."

"Ironic. Locking them in their own cages,' said Leader. "Four, help Two and the others with the creatures."

"Uh, shouldn't I stand guard?"

"The forces are locked up. They can't do anything. I need you on the animals. Go!"

Leader looked at the team and smiled. "Can't really blame him. The creatures are frightening."

"We wouldn't want your men accidentally mauled, would we?" Lester asked dryly. "That would be horrible." His tone made it clear he was being sarcastic.

Leader stared at him. "You should hope it goes smoothly and we can leave you all in peace."

"Maybe you should help," suggested Three. "Make sure it does go smooth. I'm almost finished. One more disc to go."

Leader thought for a moment. "Alright. I'll be back," he said.

Three smiled as Leader left. "That was easy." He turned his attention from the ADD and put it back on Jess. She clung to Abby in fear.

Then Three got up and slowly moved closer to her. He smiled creepily as he saw the fear rising in Jess.

"Stay away from her," warned Becker, in a steady, low voice.

"Butt out," snarled Three, a few paces away from her.

Jess began to shake.

"Easy, Jess," said Emily. "You should back away," she said loudly to Three.

He just smiled. Finally he stood in front of Jess. She looked away. "Where were we?" he asked, in an oily voice, smiling evilly.

"I said stay away," said Becker.

Three laughed cruelly but didn't say a word. He just stood, eying Jess up and down. "You are hot," he said slowly, leering at her.

Finally he bent slightly down.

That's when Jess panicked. She jumped up from her chair and backed away.

Three laughed and followed her. "No where to run, baby."

"Don't!" cried Connor.

"Get away!" screamed Matt.

Jess didn't say a word and she didn't look at Becker. She couldn't. She continued backing away from the creep, finally hitting a wall.

Three smiled. "Got ya."

She shook her head, panting with fear.

"Stay away from her!" screamed Lester.

The team watched helplessly as Three ended the game.

He lunged for at her.

"Stop it!" cried Abby as Three grabbed Jess.

She screamed.

Matt, Connor, Emily and Abby all struggled with the ropes. Lester yelled and screamed.

Jess kicked, and hit and even bit, but Three was too strong. He threw her onto the floor.

"No!" she cried.

Three laughed as she struggled. "Hope you don't mind an audience," he snarled. "I get off on it, actually."

"Get off on this," said a cool, calm, steady voice.

Three looked up and saw the fist that punched him in the face so hard that he flew off Jess. Becker's eyes were focused and deadly. He slowly advanced on Three, picked him up and threw him against the wall, he held him there by his throat.

"I told you to keep away from her," he said calmly.

Three gasped for breath and turned blue. He looked at Becker and realized that he was going to kill him. Then he saw a small hand on top of the one holding him.

"Becker," said a calm, soft voice. "Don't."

"He tried to..."

"I know, but don't. You'll regret it. I know you, even this monster's death will bother you. Please, calm down. I'm alright."

Becker didn't release him, and Three was losing consciousness.

"Please," said Jess. "Look at me."

Becker turned to Jess, and slowly the animal blood-lust drained out of him. He released Three who crumpled to the floor, then Becker gently took her into his arms. He held her and tenderly stroked her hair with the hand that had seconds before been draining the life from a monster.

They stayed entwined, hanging onto each other. Ops was quiet, as the team sighed with relief.

"Untie the others," Becker finally said. "We have an invasion to quell."

She smiled and untied Matt first. Matt went straight to Three and tied him up. Jess untied the others.

Becker was at the monitors, studying the positions of the intruders and of the ARC forces. He smiled.

"They made a stupid mistake," he said. "Lucky for us. My men are unguarded. Jess, unlock the cells."

She smiled, and jumped into the ADD chair. "With pleasure." She typed on the keyboard, chuckling. She looked toward Three, who was more or less conscious. "You're as brutish with computer systems as you are with women. Was this really supposed to keep me out?"

Becker smiled. "You are the best."

"I am," she said, smiling back. "Done. They're free, Becker."

Becker spoke into the speaker for the cells. The ARC speaker system was set up so speakers could be isolated to individual rooms or sections, without alerting the rest of the ARC.

"Flowers, Vale, Bilson, listen up, arm yourselves and await further orders," he said. On the monitor the soldiers gave the thumbs up.

The team was now all untied, and Matt had passed out the emergency EMDs hidden in Ops.

"You and your men take back the creatures, we'll handle the EMDs," said Matt.

"Right," said Becker, then he turned to the speaker system and said, "Meet me at the loading dock."

The soldiers nodded and carefully headed out into the rest of the ARC.

"You won't be needing these," said Jess, braking the discs. Three grumbled.

Becker looked at Jess. Obviously, he didn't want to leave her.

"She'll be fine," said Lester, holding a large EMD. "I promise."

Becker smiled and nodded.

Jess leaned up and kissed him. "I love you."

He nodded. "Me too," he said, stroking her cheek.

He took one long look at her, then ran with the rest of the team to to take back the ARC.

End of Part One


	2. Chapter 2

1893 Words, this chapter.

Chapter Two, Call of the Wild

Becker caught up with his soldiers outside the loading bay.

"Everyone all right?" he asked.

They nodded. Becker smiled and crept up to an access window. He saw several large crates on the docks and lots of men. None of them were armed, since they were all needed to load the huge crates.

"Jess," he whispered into his comm. "Are any of the automatic crate loaders activated?"

"No."

"They must not know about them. They're loading the creatures the old-fashioned way."

"By hand? How many men does it take to lift a dinosaur?"

Becker smirked. "Now isn't the time for jokes."

"Funny," she said. "Still, I can't believe they aren't using the automated system."

"Yeah, their Intel must not be as thorough as we thought."

"That's good," she said.

"It is. OK, we'll take them out while they're loading. It'll be easier than I thought." said Becker.

"Famous last words. Please be careful."

"I will."

The hostiles were divided into two groups, each one using several men to move a huge crate. Becker's plan was to attack in two forces at the same time. He silently gave the order and Lt. Flowers moved with half the soldiers to the other exit.

On cue, they moved on the would-be creature thieves. Becker and Flowers started the action, each one taking out their prospective guards. Then their two seconds, Lt. Vale and Sgt. Bilson, led their soldiers to the crates.

The thieves were taken by surprise, as suddenly each one was staring at the end of an EMD.

"Nice and easy, boys," said Becker. "No one moves, no one gets hurt."

"What about the creatures?" asked Vale.

"Leave them in the crates for now. They must be sedated for a journey," said Becker. "Flowers, take these guys to security and...secure them," he said with a smile.

Flowers chuckled. "Turning the tables on these guys has made you kind of loopy, hasn't it, Sir?"

Becker smiled. "I like the ARC in order. Putting it back that way makes me happy."

Most of the soldiers went with Flowers and the captives, but a few stayed with the crates.

"Jess, how many more hostiles?" asked Becker.

"Matt and the others are engaging four of them now."

"Is it going well?"

"Yes," said Jess. "Connor shot some sort of gas into the armory. The last hostile is collapsing...now."

"Remind me to set Connor on armory clean-up."

"Will do. Abby is on her way to the loading dock," she said.

"Copy, and the rest of the hostiles?"

"I can't see any in the monitors."

"Right," said Becker. "Sounds good."

Abby ran in. "Hey, I see you rescued my babies."

"Big babies," said Lt. Vale.

"Let me check that they're fine," she said.

"Stand by," said Becker to the remaining soldiers. They nodded, readying their EMDs in case.

Abby cautiously opened the crates.

"Monty, check," she said, seeing the sleeping mammoth.

She opened another. "Raptors, check."

"I'm glad they're all sleeping so soundly," said Becker. Vale and the others nodded.

Abby chuckled. "Who's in here?" she asked, turning to another crate. "Smilodon, check." She spoke into her comm, " Jess, are all the other creatures accounted for?"

"Searching now. Yes. Those were the only three they'd gotten out. The pterosaur and the giant sloth were tranqed, but they are still in the menagerie," said Jess.

"Good. Let's get these guys back there to."

"Engaging automatic loading system," said Jess.

She heard grunting and straining, and movement of a heavy object.

"Crate one is in position," said Abby.

The crate was lifted up, pulled back inside a stall, and then moved into another stall inside the menagerie. They repeated the process for the other two crates.

"Thanks guys, Jess. I was afraid we'd be too late," said Abby. "I'm going to the menagerie."

"I'm performing a security check," said Becker.

"Right," said Matt through comms. "We'll head back to Ops and inform Lester."

Matt, Connor, and Emily walked into Ops.

"Jess? The crisis is over and she steps away from the ADD," said Matt.

"I still want to know how they faked an anomaly alert," said Connor.

"That's classified," said a voice.

They all turned to see Leader holding a gun, not an EMD, to Jess' head.

"I'm sorry," she said, through tears, "I thought he was with the ones you gassed."

"As did we," said Emily.

"Look, it's over," said Matt. "Let her go."

"It's not over because I have her," Leader said. "So why would I let her go, Matt?"

"That does it! Who are you?" asked Connor.

Leader smiled. "You don't really want to know, Connor, you like puzzles too much."

The three team members looked helplessly at each other.

"This is what we're going to do," said Leader. "I am going to walk to the outer checkpoint with Jess. There, Connor, will deliver a car to me, outside the checkpoint. I'll get in, put it in drive, and leave Jess with you."

He pulled Jess into the lift. "See that we're not stopped or I might accidentally fire."

The door closed and Matt slammed his fists into the lift doors. "Damn it!"

"Becker, come in," said Emily into her comm. "Becker!"

"I read you Emily," said Becker, "What's wrong?"

"The leader of the hostiles took Jess."

"What! Where's Lester? He was looking after her."

"We don't know," said Matt.

They looked around. Emily found Lester unconscious in his office. "Here! He is here!" she cried. "He seems to be alright, but unconscious."

"Becker, Leader wants me to drive a car to the outer checkpoint," said Connor. " He says he'll leave Jess once we give him a car."

The captain's reply was a bunch of swear words.

After a few minutes, Matt and Connor met Becker beside his truck.

"Finally!" Becker cried with impatience. "Let's go."

Connor grabbed his arm. "You can't come. He'll check the car."

"I don't care."

"Really?" asked Matt. "He'll shoot you...or Jess."

Becker frowned and sighed deeply. "Connor can't go alone. We can't trust Leader."

"I know," said Matt.

Becker shook his head, clenching his teeth. "Whatever happens, he's not leaving here with Jess. I swear it."

Meanwhile, Jess stood outside the checkpoint. Beside her stood Leader.

"You aren't letting me go."

"Of course I am, Jess. Although, I wish I could bring you along. You're lovely, but you'd only hinder my progress."

She scoffed.

He smiled. "Don't worry. I can't kill you. Becker would chase me to the ends of the earth."

"Got that right," she said.

Leader looked past her. "Ah, here comes Connor now."

The car stopped in front of them, but Leader motioned it beside them.

When Connor had pulled directly next to them, Leader called out, "Come out, Connor, leave the door open, good boy."

Connor did as commanded. "Jess, you alright?"

"Fine, Connor."

Leader walked to the car, pulling Jess along with him. He kept the gun to her head as he checked the back seat. "I'm disappointed. I thought Becker would be back there. Perhaps he's under the car?"

"He tried. You'd have seen him when I drove up."

"Good, Connor. You probably saved the Captain's life. Well, a bargain's a bargain," said Leader, shoving Jess into Connor as he jumped in the car and sped away.

"He's getting away!" yelled Jess.

"For a while," said Connor.

Jess watched the car swerve and began to drift. "What happened?"

Connor laughed. "Remember the gas from earlier? I rigged it into the car. It's knockout gas, harmless. We were afraid he'd go back on his deal and take you along."

"That's brilliant, Connor."

"Can't take the credit. It was Action Man's idea."

"Where is he?"

Connor smiled. "There."

An SUV sped down the private drive, going the wrong way. Everyone, including an irate Lester jumped out.

Jess ran to Becker, and he caught her up in his arms.

She giggled. "Becker," she whispered.

He stroked her hair. "Thank God."

She nodded.

"How fitting that the person behind all this is slumped over the steering wheel, drooling in his sleep," said Lester.

"Becker? Is Jess alright?" asked Abby in his ear.

"She's fine. Thanks to your fiance."

"It was a team effort," said Connor.

"Thank you," said Jess.

Connor smiled. "I have some questions for this one," he said as Matt pulled Leader from the car.

"So do I," said Lester. "Put him in the cage with the others."

Matt and Connor carried Leader away, followed by Lester.

Becker held Jess close. "I'm so sorry."

"Why? You didn't do anything?"

"I should have stayed with you," he said.

"No, you had to do your job," she said.

"Still, if anything happened to you...Jess, I love you."

"I love you too," she said with a smile.

They hugged again and kissed tenderly.

Finally, they joined the others in the ARC.

"Alright, people, lets get everything back to normal," said Lester. "Remind me to give that Leader psycho a smack on his head, see how he likes it. Jess, can I have some pain killers please?"

"Right hand, top drawer of your desk."

"Right. Thank you."

"I wonder where he got all the information?" said Matt.

"It's weird" said Becker, "that he had so much personal information, but didn't know some basic, valuable things."

"Like what?" asked Matt.

"The automated loading system for creature transfers for instance," said Jess.

"That is weird," said Matt, "but he had the ability to mimic anomaly readings."

"I want to know how he did that," said Connor.

"So do I," said Lester. He re-entered Ops, popping pills in his mouth, and washing it down with gin. "We'll have to worry about that after we put back the creatures, the EMDs, check the security systems, and all the other things they upset." He sighed. "Inconsiderate psychos."

Matt laughed. "Right. We're on it, boss."

Emily smiled and followed him out.

"I'm going to run a check on the ADD," said Jess, "that horrible beast was inside my baby." She stood on tip-toes and kissed Becker.

He smiled and watched her skip to the ADD.

"I'll help Jess," said Connor. "I want to see if there's a clue lying in the ADD that explains how they made the false alarm."

"Well, Captain, that leaves you," said Lester. "Do I need to help you find something to do?"

Becker stood still, looking at Jess. "No, but you can help me resist this urge I have to go down to the security cells and beat the crap out of Three."

"Sorry, I don't think I can," Lester said with a smile. "However, if you need incentive to resist, you're looking at it."

Becker smiled. "Yeah. Thank you," he said. He took in a deep breath. "OK, one extra invasive, bordering on paranoia, ultra thorough security check, coming up."

Lester smiled. "I am going to make some calls. Those psychos reek of a government conspiracy, and damn it, I'm in the government. No one from the government encroaches on my facility, or I might give into my baser, primal urges!"

He looked around him. Everyone had left. "Who am I talking to? Myself? I'm not that crazy. Someone get over here so I can ramble and not seem insane! Oh, never mind. It's too late, anyway."

End of Part Two


	3. Chapter 3

1789 Words, this chapter

Chapter Three, Call of the Wild

"I think Leader worked or works for the ARC," said Becker.

Lester was aghast. "Surely not? We investigate applicants thoroughly. We even know what kind of underwear they wear."

Matt laughed. "I hope you're joking about that," he said. "Think about it, Lester. An employee would know all our names, our job descriptions, personalities and rumors."

"How else would Leader know about Abby and Connor being engaged?" asked Becker.

"He could be a friend or acquaintance outside the ARC," said Lester.

Becker shook his head. "Has to be someone with access to all of us. A friend of Abby or Connor wouldn't know about Jess and me, and Leader knew."

Lester sighed. "I suppose you're right. He had to have access." He sighed. "An ARC employee, though, that thought is very unsettling."

"It is," said Becker. "It's strange, though, that they didn't know about the automatic loaders. If you're moving something as heavy as a dinosaur, I think you'd want some help."

Matt nodded. "Jess said Three's computer skills were fairly basic. Why wouldn't a group that can trigger an anomaly alert hire a top computer expert? It makes me wonder if maybe they didn't create the alert after all."

Lester sighed. "So many questions," he said. "I want answers. Have you interrogated any of them yet?"

"No, we're letting them stew," said Matt, "Let their imaginations get a little wild."

"I want to interrogate Three first," said Becker.

"Is that wise?" asked Lester. "A dead man can tell no tales."

Becker smirked. "I had something else in mind."

A few hours later, Becker was in a small interrogation room. It was sparse, just a table and chairs. He was alone in the room with Three.

"How's your girlfriend?" asked Three. "Does she miss me?"

Becker sat across from him, silent.

"I miss her. She sure was pretty. Those long, milky legs, and that skirt! Mighty nice view," Three said with a leering smile.

Becker sat still.

"I'm surprised you let her dress like that, or do you like your women slutty? " he asked, sneering.

Becker said nothing.

"Still, I wouldn't have minded having a go at her. Maybe she would have liked it. She's probably ready for some excitement after you," he said with a wink.

Finally, Becker got up and moved toward the door.

"Tell her hi," he said, with a laugh.

Becker opened the door, but instead of moving through it, he turned, leaped across the room, and pinned Three to the table.

"I'm glad you like talking," said Becker. "Cause I have some questions I need answers to."

"Get bent !" yelled Three. His chest and head were pushed against the table.

"Oh, come on, Three, don't get bashful now. Who is behind your little group?"

"Father Christmas," he said with a laugh.

"Funny," said Becker, whispering in his ear. "Are you left-handed? I hope not," he said, crunching two fingers, breaking them.

Three screamed. "Now, we see...your true...argh...colors! Go to hell!" he screamed, wincing in pain.

"Having trouble breathing Three?" said Becker, his knee poking into Three's back. "You'd be surprised how little pressure it takes to crush a lung."

"How's little girly...going to...react to you...killing me?"

"I'm not going to kill you."

"Just torture...me, huh?" Three coughed and gasped.

"You'll heal...probably," said Becker. "I get the feeling only Leader knew us. You seem pretty clueless about things, like computers and women. Did you know I was Special Forces? I know all kinds of ways to maim the human body."

Becker got off Three's back, letting him up slightly. Once Three had caught his breath, Becker slammed him back down, and wrapped his leg around Three's leg and pulled. There was a sickening crunch and Three's scream, as Becker pulled his leg out of joint.

Three screamed. "I won't talk!"

"We don't want you to," said Becker. "We want them to talk."

Becker pulled Three up to see several of his colleagues outside the open door. They look petrified.

"Who's next?" asked Matt.

"How about the scrawny redhead?" asked Becker.

"Right, in you go," said Matt, shoving the redhead into the room.

"No! You can't! He's an animal," cried the red head. He was barely more than a kid. "Please! I don't know anything. We all follow Leader. Leader knows everything! He's the one you want!"

"Shut up!" screamed Three.

"Keep talking, kid," said Becker.

"It's his plan. He worked here."

"Shut up!"

"Keep talking and I won't lay a finger on you," said Becker.

"He made the plans. He's the one who brought the suits in."

"What suits?" asked Matt.

"Someone from the government."

Three howled.

Becker smiled. "What's your name, Kid?"

"Simon Tork. I swear, that's my name. Look me up. I'm just a stupid college kid looking for money."

"We will kid," said Becker. "If you told the truth, then no one will hurt you."

"I did, I promise," said the kid.

"You idiot!" spat Three.

A few hours later, the team was gathered in Ops. Jess handed them printouts of the private information on all their captives.

"No one in the military at all," she said. "They're mostly people down on their luck and college kids."

"Nice," said Connor. "Good work, Action Man."

"I'm not responsible for the info on Three, that came from their fingerprints, and yes, Three still has all his fingers, and most of them still function."

"How badly is the animal hurt?" asked Jess.

Matt smiled. "Barely a scratch, except for two broken fingers."

Jess grimaced. "I guess you had to."

Becker looked at her. "It was a scare tactic, Jess. I didn't want to hurt Three, OK, I did, but I resisted, mostly. We needed to scare the hell out of the others."

Connor, reading the information, said, "Looks like it worked."

"Except for Three and Leader, they all sang like birds," said Matt.

"Still no information on Leader, though," said Jess. "I'm running all employee records through face recognition software. We'll soon get a hit on his ugly mugshot."

"No fingerprints on file?" asked Abby.

"They've been removed," said Matt.

"The fingerprints?" asked Connor. "Ouch. The only way to do that is to burn them off, like with acid."

"Gross," said Jess. "That's a lot of trouble and pain to go through."

"Says a lot about him. We know he's desperate and focused," said Matt.

"We know more than when this nightmare began then," said Emily.

"Yes" said Lester. "We know there is a liaison with someone in the government."

"How do we find out who?" asked Abby.

Lester smiled. "That's my job."

Lester locked himself in his office and for the next couple of days he lived on the phone.

"I wonder if he's getting anywhere," said Jess, staring at the boss with Connor.

"I think he'd be cursing and throwing stuff if he wasn't," said Connor.

Jess walked back to the ADD and sighed as she sat. "I hope things get back to normal soon."

Connor chuckled. "I thought it was already: the ADD is interference free, the creatures are fat and happy in the menagerie, and Becker's happily firing EMDs at his troops."

"I know, but we're all on edge. Becker's working overtime to perfect security."

"Oh, I see. You want Becker normal," said Connor with a smile. "Sorry, never gonna happen." Then Becker strolled in. "Speak of the devil."

"Hi, sweetie," Jess said, getting up to kiss him.

He took the kiss but pulled away sooner than Jess liked. He was too distracted. "Guess what? We've found Leader, thanks to your face software."

"It's face recognition software," she said with a laugh. "That's great."

"So, who is he? He was a soldier, right? One of your guys gone to the dark side," Connor said with a smirk.

"No, he wasn't," said Becker with a glare. "My men don't go astray."

Connor chuckled.

"Who is he, Becker?" Jess asked.

"A cook."

Jess gasped. "No! Bernie will be so unhappy. He loves his kitchen staff!"

"Yeah. I'm on way to talk to Bernie now," said Becker.

Jess frowned. "Connor, would you excuse us for a moment?"

"Sure," said Connor. He looked at Becker. "Good luck, man."

Becker looked confused. "Is something wrong Jess?"

She crossed her arms and with a lop-sided grimace.

"Ooh. Something is wrong," Becker said.

"Yes, Becker. I'm about to become a security risk."

"What?"

"It's the only way you'll pay attention to me."

His mouth dropped open. He then tried to speak, but nothing came out. Finally his thoughts tumbled out. "What are you talking about? We were attacked! You were terrorized! Pay attention to you, Jess? Everything I do is for you!"

Jess stared at him. She turned pink and hung her head. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

He sighed and cooled down. "Come here."

She walked into his embrace.

"I don't mean to whine," she said, as he stroked her hair. "I know you want to keep me safe. I just...I miss you."

He chuckled. "We haven't had much quiet time, have we?"

She shook her head. "No."

"I'm sorry. I've just been so...focused on this mess..."

"I know."

"We need to make time, don't we?"

"We do." She looked up at him and smirked. "I mean, I really miss you. We haven't been home together in too many days and nights, emphasis on nights, do you read me?"

He laughed. "I read you, and I'm sorry. I miss you too. I'd like nothing better than go home and spend the night with you, a long night, if you read me." He winked at her, and kissed her gently. "Let me finish with Bernie, and then we'll go home."

Jess sighed. "I think mature Jess is kicking in now. Dang it." She sighed again. "You can't leave the ARC unprotected, Becker. We should...wait, I guess."

He chuckled. "No, you were right. We can't neglect ourselves. I'm fairly sure the ARC won't crumble if I go off duty for a bit."

She smiled. "If you can manage it, I would like to go home if only for a few hours."

Becker nodded, and kissed her. "It shouldn't take too long with Bernie."

"Thank you."

He nodded.

She squeezed his hand, then slowly let it go and watched him leave.

Then Lester emerged from his office. "Jess, where is Becker?"

"He just left to interview Chef Rice. Becker discovered that Leader worked in the kitchen."

"Did he? It seems all is falling into place."

"You found some information, as well?"

"I did. Tell Becker to come to my office when he gets back, and call Matt to my office now."

"Yes, sir." She sighed. So much for going home.

End of chapter three


	4. Chapter 4

1919 Words, this chapter

Author's note: This chapter is explanation, so I'm not entirely happy with all the talk. I had to resolve some questions though. I considered adding more action, but for me, the story is complete. I hope you enjoyed it.

Chapter Four, Conclusion, Call of the Wild

Becker sat in Chef Bernie Rice's office. "Do you remember Anton Blake?" he asked the chef.

Bernie sighed. "Yes, I had a bad feeling about him from the start," said Bernie. "I try to give everyone a chance, but he didn't want to work. He was arrogant, disrespectful, and lazy."

"Did you know about his parents?"

"That they were high-level members of government? No, not until I fired him. Lester said he hadn't wanted to take him into the ARC at all, but the minister insisted. He was pressured by the parents, and in turn he pressured Lester."

"And Lester pressured you."

"No. He didn't. I felt for Lester. He was in a bad position. Blake had quickly worked his way through every department in the ARC. He started out in scientific research, but had been caught stealing a scientist's work. Lester said he was outraged at being demoted and moved, and the more he was transferred, the more resentful he got."

"That explains how he knew so much about everyone," said Becker. "He spent time in all the departments."

Bernie nodded. "He loved listening to gossip, Captain. That's probably how he knew so much about the main team and senior staff. He felt that was where he should have been, at the top of the ARC hierarchy."

"But he couldn't keep any job here," said Becker.

Bernie sighed. "I tried to keep him. I thought if I gave him enough time, maybe he'd sort himself out. He didn't. In fact, his arrogance, sloth, and downright meanness got worse."

Becker chuckled. "Even your patience has a limit."

Bernie smiled sadly. "Yes, sir. I finally had to complain to Lester. It just wasn't fair to the rest of my staff. That's when Lester fired him completely."

"I take it that Blake wasn't happy about that."

"He was disgraced and felt wronged, but I can't see him reacting violently. I told you, Captain, he was lazy. His CV wasn't impressive. Any positions, degrees, or titles he had were bought my his parents' money. I hate saying that, but I know it's true. He just didn't have any skills. I doubt he had the skills to plan a coup."

"We think someone else helped him. Anyone greedy enough can plan a theft. Blake knew there were top secret files, new technology, and priceless creatures here."

"I see," Bernie said. He broke off a piece of cookie, then offered the plate to Becker. He smiled and took one. Bernie swallowed then said, "That would have put Blake in a powerful position, he could have bargained with the minister or tried to sell them to countries and private collectors."

"Can you help explain why we didn't recognize him, once we had him in custody and unmasked him?"

Bernie smiled. "He kept changing his look, short hair, long hair, red or brown hair, mustache, beard. His style of clothes changed too. I don't know why. When he was first transferred here, I didn't realize he was the same person I had met weeks earlier working for Miss Maitland. He looked that different."

"Odd. Maybe it has to do with his ego. He tried to look different so people wouldn't recognize him and whisper about his constant reassignment. Or maybe, even then, he was working on this theft plan." He paused to take a bite.

"I doubt it sir," said Bernie. "That would be an awful lot of forward thinking, and frankly, it would be too much work for him."

Becker smiled. When the ARC was invaded, Leader didn't do that much, he remembered, just barked orders and checked on other members of the plot.

He finished his cookie. "Thanks, Bernie. You've helped me get an idea of who this guy is."

"I hope we are finally rid of him," said Bernie. "He was bad news."

"I agree, and don't worry, he's already been charged with several felonies. He'll be locked up for a long time, especially given the minister's involvement."

Bernie looked relieved. "Then perhaps we can settle into our normal chaos."

Becker laughed. "Yeah, it will be welcome after the last few days." He stood. "Speaking of normal, there's a pretty but impatient young lady waiting on me."

Bernie smiled. "Give Miss Parker my regards."

Becker nodded and walked to Ops.

"OK, Jess, just let me give a quick update to Matt or Lester about what I learned and we'll get out of here for a while."

"No we won't," said Jess, eating a huge bar of chocolate.

"You don't have good news, do you?"

She sighed. "Lester wants to see you, everyone actually, in his office. I don't think we'll be getting home for a while."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, which is why I charged this chocolate bar to our illustrious director."

"You can do that?" asked Becker.

"Of course. Don't worry, I never abuse that power."

"Um, this isn't abuse?"

"No, it is not," she said with a glare. "He owes me this chocolate." She then ferociously bit off a large chunk.

"OK, Jess," said Becker. "I'm backing away. You're scaring me a little."

"Good."

Becker laughed and walked into Lester's office. Everyone but Jess was inside.

"Is the Chocolate Queen planning on joining us?" asked Lester.

"I'm here," she said, appearing behind Becker. "I'm not happy, though."

Lester shook his head. "I'm so sorry to hear that." He cleared his throat. "Now then, Becker, what did Chef Rice have to say?"

Becker told them about his interview with Bernie.

"So, Leader thought he could get rich and powerful and rectify the shame of failing at the ARC by stealing our secrets," said Lester.

"Looks like that was his motive," said Becker.

"OK, he's the link to the intelligence on all of us, and the basic lay of the ARC," said Connor. "but who created the fake anomaly alert if this Blake guy didn't have the skill?"

Lester smiled. "I happen to have that little nugget of information. My digging led me to a very prominent and respected physicist. A physicist who was assigned to, anyone? No one wants to guess?"

"Out with it Lester," said Matt.

"You, Anderson, are a party-pooper. This particular egghead was part of Christine Johnson's research team."

"You're kidding," said Connor.

"Where do you think Christine got her knowledge of the anomalies, eh? Anyway, guess what he was developing?"

"An anomaly detector," said Connor.

"You get a gold star."

"So they used this physicist to copy the anomaly readings and the alert?" asked Matt

"Yes, and if you recall, the readings weren't stable."

"That's right," said Jess. "It was very weird. The anomaly seemed to phase in and out."

"That's because the physicist couldn't recreate the precise readings of an anomaly."

"What's this physicist's name?" asked Connor.

"Out of respect for the minister, I am not at liberty to divulge."

"You don't know," said Jess.

"I do so," retorted Lester. "I'm simply not telling you."

Everyone chuckled.

"This physicist was part of the group?" asked Connor.

"No. He was used by rogue government officials, the minister's phrase by the way. I take it he isn't very happy with them. The physicist showed them his research."

"Probably hoping for funding," said Connor.

"Yes, another gold star for you. When he realized the officials weren't going to fund him, he broke contact. However, they had copied key parts of his research. When confronted, the government officials claimed no knowledge."

"Of course, they did," said Abby.

"So the anomaly fake-out was caused by the government officials, who used stolen information from the physicist, but how does Leader fit in?" asked Jess.

"Through his parents," said Becker. "He had contact with the government officials through them."

"A gold star for the Captain," said Lester. "It was sheer luck that both Leader and the officials had their sites set on us at the same time."

"So they decided to help each other," said Matt.

"That means no one hacked into our systems," said Jess. "The ADD was always secure. Their information on the anomaly, the animals, the EMDs, even us, all came from other means."

She smiled with relief.

"Yes, Jess. You still have a hack-proof record," said Lester.

"I do! But how did the officials find the physicist?"

"Oh, you're all so clever today," said Lester. "The officials had worked with him. They had served in a research group led by, anyone?"

The team laughed and said in unison, "Christine Johnson."

"Who is this person?" asked Emily.

"I'll bring you up to date, later," said Jess.

"How? You weren't part of the ARC then," said Connor.

Becker smiled. "She read the files."

Jess laughed. "I did."

"So after Johnson's...disappearance, the officials were privy to secrets she hadn't bothered to tell them, like the true powers lying in the ARC. They apparently decided to go after that power," said Lester.

"How did the minister know all this?" asked Abby.

Lester hesitated.

Becker answered her, "They had his approval."

Lester sighed. "At first, yes," he admitted. "It was a check and balance, if you will, against us."

"What? That's awful," said Jess.

"Not really," said Becker. "What if Lester went insane and decided to cut ties to the minister, steal the ARC's research and declare himself Emperor?"

The others, except Lester, laughed.

"Thank you, Captain for that ludicrous analogy, but it does have a point. The minister needed a backup plan if the ARC was lost. I told him he should stop trusting in backup plans since their directors all seem to go power-mad. He should trust that the ARC as well as James Lester, is always at his service."

"What did he say to that?" asked Abby, with a smile.

Lester frowned. "That I should stop kissing up to him, but that I had a point—we have never given him a reason to distrust us. I choose to focus on the last half of his statement."

Everyone laughed. Abby shook her head and chuckled, saying, "Lester, you are one of a kind."

"I am. Thank you Miss Maitland," he said proudly.

"Where are these government blokes now?" asked Matt.

"Answering charges of treason and espionage," said Lester.

Connor whistled. "Wow. The minister doesn't play lightly, does he? So, they'll be out of our hair?"

"Indeed."

"I am confused, however, on why members of parliament would hire a miscreant like Three," said Emily.

"They were planning this little enterprise without the knowledge of the minister or anyone else," said Lester. "They couldn't exactly hire the best and brightest. Plus, they wanted people they could intimidate or dispose of if necessary."

"Like a bunch of college students, out-of-work blokes, and thugs," said Becker.

"And Leader they could control through his parents, either by blackmail or threats," said Lester.

"So, everyone is in jail?" asked Jess.

"That is correct, Miss Parker."

"Good," she turned to Becker. "Can we go home, now?"

He chuckled and took her hand. "I think we can."

"Indeed, let's all go home," said Lester.

"See that, Jess? Ordered by the boss," said Becker.

"Thank you, Lester. Oh, thanks for the chocolate too."

"You are welcome. Have a good night everyone," Lester said. "Rest well, eventually, I see that lustful look Becker and Jess, ew. Come in bright and early, ready to work."

Becker and Jess left, giggling and blushing, the others teasing them as they followed.

Lester shut off his lights and closed the door to his office, then paused. "What chocolate?"

The End


End file.
